Thinkin About You Lately
by curliegurlie687
Summary: My first fic! I don't want to give away the pairing, even though you might be able to predict what it is anyway. Oh well, this story is pretty different from most of the SORs here, please r & r!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock or anything associated with it.  
  
This is my first story so I'm sorry if it's not that good.  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
Marta Hale smiled and rolled her eyes as she and two of her best friends, Michelle Green and Eleni Afflerbach listened to Katie Brown tell yet another "Freddy Story." Marta and Katie have been best friends for over four years now and Marta was used to her "obsessive tendencies." Katie has had a crush on Freddy Jones for a while now, and she was always looking at him, trying to find out things about him, or talking about him and Marta, Michelle, and Eleni were very used to it by now.  
  
Marta got bored and turned her attention away from the rambling Katie and toward Leonard Hawkins' table. She had secretly liked him ever since the fourth grade when she moved to Horace Green Elementary. She was in eighth grade now, and well, it wasn't exactly a secret anymore. He knew, and she knew he knew, but they never really talked about it and had managed to keep a really good friendship going. But when he wasn't looking, she was always staring at him....in the cafeteria....and in Algebra...and English...and Reading & Writing....  
  
"Perfect view?" Michelle asked laughing.  
  
"Shut up!" Marta exclaimed and jabbed her in the ribs.  
  
"It's okay, Mar," Eleni said with a fake dramatic sigh. She turned her head to another table of guys. "We all do it," she said and winked.  
  
They all burst out laughing. "So...." Marta said, "anything interesting happen this morning besides Freddy spitting sunflower seeds at seventh graders on the bus?"  
  
Katie laughed. "Not really," she said, "but Zack Mooneyham explained to me this theory he had about how chocolate chip cookies are racist or something. You know, it's weird, we did that whole band thing in elementary school, but I've never really talked to him."  
  
"Yea I know," said Marta, "I've talked to him like once or twice but it was only just this year. He sits in front of me in Science, he's pretty funny I guess."  
  
The four girls talked for a few minutes more before the bell rang. They all said their good-byes and headed off to their classes. Marta walked into the English room and took her seat. Several seconds later, Leonard strolled into the room, counting to himself, same as every day. "7...6...5...4...3..."  
  
"RINGGGGGGGG!!!!" The bell rang for class to begin.  
  
"Man! I'm always a few seconds off!" Leonard exclaimed.  
  
Marta laughed flirtatiously and rolled her eyes. "You'll get it right someday..." she said and smiled at him. He smiled back. She hated that about him. He would always do that, smile at her, flirt with her, etc., but he insisted to everyone that he didn't like her. "Ughhhhh..." she thought, "there he goes again...."  
  
Marta had Science eighth period. She walked into the room and sat down. She didn't really like her Science class much because none of her good friends were in it.  
  
As soon as the bell rang, the teacher announced to the class, "All I am going to do today is tell you your grades for the final grading period and for the year. Then you can talk and do whatever you want as long as you keep the volume down." There was a whisper of "yes!'s" throughout the whole class.  
  
There was really no one for Marta to talk to, so she started looking through her pile of books and realized that she forgot to bring one to read. "Ahh!" she thought to herself and pulled out a notebook. She began doodling and got lost in her thoughts.  
  
"Hey, is that Trogdor the Burninator?" someone said a few minutes later.  
  
The voice startled Marta and she looked up. It was Zack Mooneyham. She laughed, "Oh yea," she said, "I love Homestarrunner."  
  
"Me too, I think I can imitate all the voices from the site."  
  
"Really?" Marta asked. "I didn't know you were into stuff like that."  
  
"Oh yea," said Zack, "there's a lot of things that people don't know about me." Zack was a pretty shy kid. He had a few pretty good friends but he was really shy around everyone else. He had a lot of talent though. He could play the guitar really well and even sing and act.  
  
They talked for pretty much the rest of class and both of their lab partners just kind of sat there and stared. The bell rang and Marta had a weird feeling like she didn't want class to end yet, it had gone by so fast talking to Zack. "Nice talking to you," he said.  
  
"Oh, you too," said Marta.  
  
Later that night Marta logged on to AIM. She smiled when she saw that Katie and Michelle were both on. She clicked on rockergirl22 which was Katie's name.  
  
Heartofglass05: hey, what's up?  
  
rockergirl22: hey, nm, just talking, you?  
  
Heartofglass05: cool, who you talking to?  
  
rockergirl22: just you, michelle, and zack  
  
Heartofglass05: really? i talked to zack like the whole science class today  
  
Heartofglass05: what's his sn?  
  
rockergirl22: gobletofrock00  
  
Heartofglass05: oh cool, thanks  
  
rockergirl22: anytime  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock or anything associated with it.  
  
I think I needed to publish the first two chapters at the same time to get the story going.  
  
So here's Chapter 2:  
  
The next day, Marta was sitting in Reading & Writing, and she was turned around talking to Marco Hosey. Class hadn't started yet and the teacher hadn't come in so naturally the room was quite chaotic. Marco had liked Marta for a really long time. She felt so bad because she really liked Marco, but only as a good friend. She tried to tell him more than once that it would never work between them, but he just never seemed to give up...  
  
"HEADS UP MARTA!" Katie yelled from across the room.  
  
A note came flying at Marta and hit her in the head. "Nice throw," she said sarcastically.  
  
"Sorry! I actually wrote it yesterday but forgot to give it to you," Katie said as Marta opened the note.  
  
Mar-  
  
OMG I'm sitting in Social Studies and Summer WILL NOT SHUT UP. She is the biggest suck-up in the world. AHHHHHH!!! I just got done talking to Zack Mooneyham again. You're right, he is a funny kid. Haha Mr. Clark just asked Freddy what country London was in and he said, "Umm...Europe?" lol it was so great. Hey, look at this!  
  
I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. I LOVE FREDDY. :-D  
  
-Katie  
  
"Psssssh," Marta thought to herself. "She's freakin obsessed..."  
  
She looked over at Katie and saw that she was talking to Zack. "Awwww, they would make a cute couple," she thought, "too bad Katie wouldn't budge from Freddy..." She looked at the note again and laughed to herself just as the bell rang. "Oh well..." she thought.  
  
Later that night at chorus dress rehearsal, Katie and Marta sat at the back of the room and chatted. See, it was almost the end of the year and they had to put on their annual spring concert. But everyone knew that it was going to be a complete disaster. Chorus was always mass chaos because most of the people that joined only joined it for social reasons and not for the love of music and didn't really care what went on anyway. The few people that actually cared were well outweighed by the people that didn't.  
  
As usual, Katie was talking about something stupid that Freddy did. "Ahhhh, he's so cute!" Katie said and smiled.  
  
Marta rolled her eyes. "Katie," she said with a sigh, "he's a real nice guy and all, but c'mon, he's a total moron!" she laughed. "I don't even think he could understand the concept of having a girlfriend anyway, you should just give him up."  
  
Katie rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said.  
  
"No, really, I'm serious," said Marta, "I can't even see him with a girlfriend. Besides," she said in a sly tone, "you and Zack seem to be getting along pretty well."  
  
"Huh?" Katie said, "yea right Marta, I like barely even know him."  
  
"So??" said Marta, "you probably know him better than you know Freddy anyways, and besides, you can GET to know him better..." she moved her eyebrows up and down and smiled. "I talked to him all day yesterday in Science and like an hour last night on AIM, he's a really nice guy Katie! You should like him!" she laughed.  
  
"No way." said Katie.  
  
Marta sighed. "Whatever you say Katie..."  
  
(A/N): Welp, there's the first two chapters! I hope you liked it. I'll try to update as often as I can because the story isn't near done yet. I would really appreciate some reviews so I know how I'm doing!  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock or anything associated with it.  
  
Thanks sooooo much to all of my reviewers! I really appriciate all of them.  
  
On to the next chapter!  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
The next day at school, Marta was sitting in homeroom. Homeroom was pretty boring. Everyone just kind of sat there and pretended to be interested in the "news" that the teachers made the kids watch every morning. It was basically just a way to kill twenty minutes in the morning. It was even worse because the teachers would blow up in your face if you tried to talk to someone. But if you were careful, you could pass a note while the teacher wasn't looking. Marta and Katie relied on notes a lot at school because they would always be getting in trouble for talking.  
  
Katie passed Marta a note through Alicia. They sat on opposite ends of the room but they always found a way to communicate. Marta made sure the teacher wasn't looking and opened it.  
  
Mar-  
  
I was thinking about what you said last night and I realized that you're right. I mean, Freddy's really funny and cute, but he _is_ kind of a moron. You were right about Zack too. He's really down-to-earth and sweet. If I knew him a little better I think I would even go out with him! I've been obsessed with Freddy so long, I guess I just needed someone to point it out to me that there are accually other guys on this earth. Thanks so much!!  
  
-Katie  
  
_"Anytime..."_ Marta thought and smiled to herself.  
  
A few minutes later the bell rang for homeroom to let out. Marta sighed and got up to meet Katie so they could walk to chorus together. Their concert was that night and they had to perform it for the rest of the school this morning. Their teacher was frantic. Very few people accuually knew the songs and very few people cared.  
  
There were three chorus classes and because of their schedules, Marta and Katie got stuck in the one with all the immature people from one of the other schools which merged with Horace Green Elementary in the junior high level. They were also most of the ones that just joined chorus for social reasons and most of the time didn't even sing. Katie and Marta hated almost every single one of them. Both of them really liked to sing, especially Marta, and the other people kind of ruined it for them.  
  
"Hey, isn't Zack in chorus?" asked Marta.  
  
"Yea," said Katie, "but obviously, he's in another class. You know, the good one," she looked around the room at the other students. Most of them were running around screaming, trying to be funny. "The one WE should be in!" She got an annoyed look on her face.  
  
"I know," Marta said sadly, "at least it's almost over."  
  
"Yea really, I can't wait to get this concert over with. You'd think with all the decent musicians we have in this school, the chorus would be a little better...man, when we were School of Rock and we had Dewey...God we were so awesome..."  
  
Marta frowned. "I know," she said, "I wish it never would have ended."  
  
"Well, we couldn't have kept that 'school kid' image going much longer anyway, I guess it was all for the best. Dewey was too serious about it, we were only like 10, we weren't ready for tours and record deals and stuff like that." She paused. "You know, I really wish I would have talked to Zack more back then, maybe I wouldn't have wasted so much of my time on Freddy."  
  
"Yea," said Marta. "It's realllllllly weird that we spent so much time in the same room as him, but know so little about him."  
  
"Yea, but well, that's us for ya, weird!" Katie said laughing.  
  
"Haha yea, good point," said Marta.  
  
"I mean seriously," said Katie "he's always been like RIGHT THERE and I barely ever noticed because I was so obsessed with Freddy..." Her voice was getting louder now. "I mean really, I practically STALKED the guy for what, like, 2 or 3 years and he had NO FREAKIN CLUE AND OHMIGOD HE-  
  
"Katie stop it! People are starting to stare..."  
  
"Oh geeze," Katie said and looked around. "Thanks, Marta, I have no idea what I would do without you, my bestest fwend!" she said and laughed.  
  
"Haha, I know, I know, just remember you said that."  
  
(A/N): There's chapter 3, I hope you liked it! The story is starting to unfold now and it will get more interesting later. Please R & R!  
  



	4. Chapter 4

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Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock, Finding Nemo, or The Matrix.brbr  
  
Thanks so much again to all my reviewers!brbr  
  
Chapter 4:brbr  
  
Chorus concerts always made Marta a little nervous. Not about the singing, but she was always just worried about looking stupid on stage, especially to Leonard. Not that it mattered anyway, no one really paid attention. Half of the students slept through it while the other half just sat there and slowly clapped out of sheer politeness at the end of each song. The evening concert went basically the same, although the parents had the decency to stay awake. Oh well. Marta was just glad it was over.brbr  
  
"Hey, wait up!" Marta heard a voice call from behind her. it was the next day right before 8th period and she was walking down the hall toward science.brbr  
  
It was Katie. "Here," she said, "I wanted to give this to you before you go to Science, Zack is in your class, right?"brbr  
  
"Yea he is," said Marta. "Katie...what the heck is this?"brbr  
  
"It's a list of things I want you to find out about him. I know you guys talk a lot...and it's not like you haven't done this before so..."brbr  
  
Marta looked at her. "You're kidding me, right?"brbr  
  
"No, I'm totally serious."brbr  
  
"Oh Katie, c'mon, we went through this same thing with Freddy and..."brbr  
  
"And it worked!" Katie said. "Go on, ask me something about him."brbr  
  
Marta rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."brbr   
  
"Thanks, Mar, you're the best!"brbr  
  
Marta started back down the hall toward the Science room. Zack seemed pretty smart, so this would be a challenge. See, when Katie liked Freddy, anything she wanted to know, she told Marta and Marta would find a way to find it out without directly asking him and without making it too obvious. Freddy's pretty dense, so it wasn't that hard to do.brbr  
  
Over the next few days, Marta found out many things about Zack. He was single, he loved all of the arts; not just music, he was very intelligent; and funny, and he loved outdoor activities. He was sick of all the chorus people too, haha. She was doing this for Katie, but she didn't mind at all, she actually kind of liked talking to Zack.brbr   
  
It's Friday afternoon, 8th period. Last period of the day, then the weekend. Around this time each week, Marta is usually staring at the clock, waiting and waiting for the bell to ring. But today, the period seemed to fly by, and when the bell rang, she actually found herself frowning. Marta liked school at the end of the year, the grades were in, the work was done, everyone was excited for summer, and the teachers just basically let you talk the whole class.brbr  
  
Just like the last few days, she had talked to Zack most of the period.brbr  
  
"So, you got any plans tonight?" Zack asked.brbr  
  
"Yea, Katie, Michelle, Eleni, and I are going to see Finding Nemo tonight!" Marta replied.brbr  
  
Zack laughed. "Oh come on, Finding Nemo???" he said, still laughing.brbr  
  
Marta started laughing too, "What?" she asked. "We think it looks cute!"brbr  
  
He rolled his eyes and smiled. "I'm going to see The Matrix: Reloaded with my friend tonight."brbr  
  
"My brother is like OBSESSED with those movies, but I've never even seen the first one," Marta said.brbr  
  
"Ah, they're great. You've gotta watch one sometime, you guys should meet us there and see it with us!"brbr  
  
"Haha, thanks for the offer, but I don't think Eleni and Michelle would go for that, definitely not their kind of movie."brbr  
  
Zack looked slightly disappointed. "Oh well," he said. "Have fun at Finding Nemo," he burst out laughing again.brbr  
  
"Oh, I'll make sure I do," she rolled her eyes and smiled.brbr  
  
On the way out of school, Marta passed Leonard in the hall. Her eyes lit up and she smiled at him. He didn't seem to see her though. But for some reason, she wasn't that disappointed, she was in a really good mood that day. She couldn't wait to go out tonight with her friends. They always had the best times, especially at the movies.brbr   
  
brbr  
  
"Geeze, it's packed!" said Eleni, when they got to the movies later that night.brbr  
  
"What do you expect, it's Friday night!" Katie said.brbr  
  
After they had gotten their tickets, and snacks (of course!), they walked into the cinema and found seats. They had an awesome time. The movie iwas/i very cute, and they talked and laughed all through it, even though some of the people around them gave mean looks. They didn't care, if they were having fun, they never let anyone stop them.brbr   
  
brbr  
  
After it was over, the four girls walked out of the theater and into the main room. It was still pretty crowded.brbr  
  
"Hey!" Katie said suddenly. "I just remembered something. Today in Reading & Writing Zack told me he was going to be here seeing the Matrix or something."brbr  
  
"Yea, he told me too, in Science," said Marta.brbr  
  
"Hang on, I'm gonna go ask what time it's over," Katie said, and hurried to the front desk.brbr  
  
She came back a few seconds later. "Twenty minutes," she said, "we're going to have to stall..."brbr  
  
"Katie, your mom is already here, I don't think we could stall for twenty minutes. I mean, we're good, but we're not that good," said Michelle.brbr  
  
They all laughed. "Yea, you're right," said Katie. "We better just go."brbr   
  
brbr  
  
(A/N): I hope you liked chapter four! I should be home pretty much all day tomorrow so I should have chapter five up soon. Please drop me a review, pretty please!brbr


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock or anything associated with it. The song "Sunday Morning" belongs to Maroon 5. I don't own Clay Aiken either, haha.  
  
Thanks sooooo much to all the reviewers!!  
  
So here's Chapter 5:  
  
Marta woke up late the next morning. She loved Saturdays, after five days of getting up early, it was really nice to sleep in. She walked downstairs with a bowl of cereal and logged onto AIM.  
  
gobletofrock00: Hey, what's up?  
  
Heartofglass05: Not too much, just got up, lol  
  
gobletofrock00: WHAT? it's 1:30!  
  
gobletofrock00: You're going to sleep away your lifetime, lol  
  
She clicked on his profile.  
  
_Sunday morning rain is fallin  
Steal some covers share some skin  
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable  
You twist to fit the mold that I am in  
But things just get so crazy living life gets hard to do  
And I would gladly hit the road get up and go if I knew  
That someday it would lead me back to you  
That someday it would lead me back to you  
  
That lady's all I need  
In darkness she is all I see  
Come and rest your bones with me  
Driving slow on Sunday morning  
And I never want to leave_  
  
Her heart skipped a beat. Everyone on AIM knows that if you put a song in your profile, it usually means that you're trying to express how you feel. _He likes someone..._ she thought to herself.  
  
She grabbed the phone and called Katie. "Katie, have you seen Zack's profile lately?"  
  
"Huh?" she said.  
  
"Okay I'll take that as a no."  
  
"Why? What does it say?"  
  
"It has lyrics to a song..."Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5. Katie, I think he likes someone!"  
  
"Hang on, I'll get on AIM."  
  
Marta hung on the phone. _Oh God, I really hope he likes Katie..._  
  
rockergirl22: I think you're right, he likes someone  
  
rockergirl22: look at it now  
  
Marta clicked on Zack's profile again. The song was still there, but he had added something at the bottom.  
  
_Wish you felt the same..._  
  
_Woah,_ Marta thought.  
  
rockergirl22: I think I might say something to him, like kinda drop a hint that I like him  
  
Heartofglass05: really? haha I'm so proud of you Katie!  
  
rockergirl22: :-D  
  
"MARTA!" Marta's mother called. "We have to go now!"  
  
Heartofglass05: I gtg, I'll ttyl  
  
rockergirl22: okay, later  
  
Marta's grandmother was in the hospital. Nothing serious, she just had a minor surgery and had to stay in the hospital for a few days. Marta, her mom, and brother went to visit her every day. After they had spent an hour or so there, they started driving back home. Marta popped her Clay Aiken cd into her portable cd player and listened to it the whole way home.  
  
When they got home, there was a message on the answering machine.  
  
_"Hey Mar, it's Katie, give me a call when you get home."_ She sounded kind of upset. _Oh no,_ Marta thought. _I hope this isn't what I think it is..._   
  
Marta dialed Katie's number and prayed that this wasn't about Zack, but she knew it was.  
  
"Hello?" Katie said on the other end.  
  
"Hey, it's me." said Marta.  
  
"Mar...I told him."  
  
"I thought you were just going to drop a hint!" Marta exclaimed.  
  
"Yea, if you call, 'Hey, I saw your profile, and I just wanted to tell you that I really like you' a hint."  
  
"Oh..." Marta said quietly. "...What did he say?"  
  
"Well...he said something like, 'That's so flattering, but you're a really good friend and I treasure that and I don't want to ruin the friendship' and blah, blah, blah, you know how guys are.  
  
"Oh God.." Marta said, "I'm so sorry Katie."  
  
Katie sighed. "I know, I really like him. Who do you think it is that he likes?"  
  
"No clue." Marta said and thought. "I bet we could find out though, we ALWAYS do."  
  
"Haha yea, we always find a way," said Katie, feeling a bit better. "I have to go, I'll talk to you later, okay?"  
  
"All right, call me later or somethin," said Marta.  
  
"Okay, later."  
  
Marta hung up. She suddenly felt really angry. She went outside to jump on her trampoline. She did that a lot to get her anger out. _I can't believe he doesn't like her!_ She started jumping harder, higher. Her emotions were getting stronger. She stopped suddenly and laid down and looked up at the sky. No, it wasn't anger that she was feeling...it was something else...something she couldn't put her finger on. She closed her eyes for a few minutes. She opened them suddenly and sat up. "Oh no..." she whispered.  
  
_I like Zack..._  
  
(A/N): Surprised? Haha probably not, I made it pretty obvious in the previous chapters. Oh well, I hope you still like the story. I'll update ASAP. Please give me a review!  
  



	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock or anything associated with it. The song "Crush" belongs to Mandy Moore.  
  
Again, thanks to all the reviewers!  
  
animallvr--Maybe, but that's not how it happened!  
  
blueheaven79--Thanks so much!  
  
sandy-pandy--lol, what do you mean? Clay Aiken's awesome :-p  
  
rockin awesome x--Sorry he doesn't like Katie, lol  
  
kittygalmeow--Sorry, I'll try to put some funny stuff in, but it's just going to get more dramatic i think  
  
kaitlin (swimmerkitti)--yes, dun dun dun  
  
miss mills--lol yea, i made it pretty obvious, but i think if i didn't then the story wouldn't have made much sense :-p  
  
silver-serpentine--Thanks soooo much!  
  
Strokes--lol, yea, i think you pretty much summed it up :-D, thanks for the review  
  
......!--Thank you too!  
  
Okayyyy...on to Chapter 6!  
  
_Oh my God..._ Marta thought to herself as she climbed off her trampoline and ran toward her house. _I am the worst friend in the world._  
  
She walked up to her room and laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She felt sick. Everything made sense now. Why she suddenly liked Science class, why she stayed up later than usual to talk on AIM, why she's thinking about Leonard less and less, why she always seems to be feeling happy... She felt so guilty because she knew deep down that Zack liked her too. SHE was the reason that her best friend in the whole world was feeling so low right now. SHE was the one that Zack liked...and she liked him back. She reached over and turned the radio on. Music always made Marta feel better, she loved it more than anything in the world. She closed her eyes and thought about what to do next. _It's not fair,_ she thought, _Katie liked him first, I can't take him away from her...._ She opened her eyes suddenly and sat up on her bed. _But he doesn't like her!_ She laid back down. She felt like crying.  
  
After about an hour, Marta got up and walked downstairs.  
  
"What's wrong, honey? You look a little sick" Marta's mom asked her.  
  
_Wow,_ Marta thought, _how does she always know?_. She quickly put on a fake smile. "Nothing, mom," she said and walked down to the basement.  
  
She moved the mouse to get out of standby mode on her computer. She had an away message up on AIM. She looked at her buddy list and saw that Katie was on. She clicked on her profile.  
  
_You know, I'm the one that you can talk to  
Sometimes, you tell me things that I don't wanna know  
I just want to hold you  
You say, exactly how you feel about her  
I wonder, could you ever think of me that way...._  
  
:'-(   
Marta's heart sank. She couldn't believe this was happening.  
  
Monday morning at school, Marta sat in the cafeteria and waited for her friends to get there. Katie walked in, sat down, and dropped a piece of paper in front of Marta. "What's this?" Marta asked.  
  
"Read it," Katie said, a little coldly.  
  
Marta looked at it, it was an AIM conversation between Katie and Gordon Baxter, one of Zack's close friends.  
  
rockergirl22: hey, what's up?  
  
gordonator43: nm, u?  
  
rockergirl22: i have to ask you something...but PLEASE just keep it between us  
  
gordonator43: sure, anything  
  
rockergirl22: okay, you're good friends with Zack, right?  
  
gordonator43: yep, why?  
  
rockergirl22: okay...do you happen to know who he likes?  
  
gordonator43: yea...but you can't tell anyone I told you  
  
rockergirl22: promise  
  
gordonator43: okay, it's marta hale  
  
rockergirl22: what?  
  
gordonator43: i know, i didn't even know they knew each other that well  
  
rockergirl22: are you absolutely certain?  
  
gordonator43: yea, he told me yesterday  
  
gordonator43: don't tell him i told you!!  
  
rockergirl22: i won't...thanks  
  
rockergirl22: i gtg, later  
  
"Oh God," Marta whispered. "Katie I'm so sorry."  
  
Katie looked like she was about to cry. "Marta, it's not your fault, I'm just kinda glad it's you because I know you wouldn't go out with him because you like Leonard." She paused. "...right?"  
  
"Um....yea, sure," Marta said quietly. Marta had never lied to her best friend before. She was already hurt enough, she couldn't possibly tell her she liked him back...at least not yet.  
  
The morning announcements said that there would be an assembly in the auditorium about the end of the year field trip. The kids all headed to their assigned seats in the auditorium. After everyone was seated, the principal got up to speak.  
  
"This year for the end of the year trip, the student council voted on a short cruise on the river in the afternoon, and a dance on the boat for the evening," the principal said.  
  
_Oh, perfect,_ thought Marta, _a dance..._  
  
The principal continued. "The trip will be on Thursday, June 5. It will start after school and the buses will arrive back around 11." He continued on for a few minutes with more details about the trip.  
  
After the meeting, everyone got up and walked back to their homerooms. As Marta walked down the hall, she passed Zack. Her eyes suddenly lit up, but then she realized it and started to feel worse than before. He smiled at her as he walked past.  
  
Could this day get any worse?  
  
...or better?  
  
(A/N): Sorry, this chapter kind of sucks, lol. I hope you will review anyway! I will update ASAP. This chapter was a bit hard to write, but the rest should come a little easier. Thanks for reading!  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock or anything associated with it.  
  
Thanks soooooo much, as always, to all the reviewers!  
  
Chapter 7:  
  
For the next few days, Marta felt increasingly more terrible. All she could think about was Zack, and how much she was hurting Katie. She felt sick to her stomach all the time, not like sick-sick, but she had no appetite. It was four days before the trip, and she barely got sleep at night and hadn't eaten much. Marta wasn't usually like this, she hardly ever got emotional. But this was different, she had never felt like this before, she was so confused...  
  
She came to the conclusion that she had to tell someone. See, usually when she had problems, she would always talk to Katie. Katie had always been there. And here Marta was, betraying her. Everytime she thought about it, it made her want to throw up. Still, she knew it would only get worse if she kept it to herself.  
  
She went downstairs and logged onto AIM. "Please be on..." she whispered. Her buddy list appeared and she scrolled down to her "Best Friends" catagory.  
  
"Shoot!" she said out loud. Michelle had an away message up that said she was out shopping, as usual. She was the only person Marta could turn to now. She was close with Eleni too, but Marta didn't think Eleni would understand this kind of thing. She would get too emotional and possibly even tell Katie. Marta knew Michelle would listen to her, and she could trust her not to tell Katie. Marta started thinking about what to do next. How and when was she going to tell Katie? What would happen after? Poor Zack doesn't even know anything about this...  
  
A beep from her computer interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see a message pop up. It was Zack. She smiled to herself, then she got mad at herself. This kept happening, every time she thought about him, or talked to him.....  
  
gobletofrock00: hey  
  
Heartofglass05: hey  
  
gobletofrock00: how are you?  
  
Heartofglass05: tired, could be a lot better, lol  
  
gobletofrock00: awww, what's wrong?  
  
Heartofglass05: um...long story...  
  
gobletofrock00: you probably don't want to talk about it, huh?  
  
Heartofglass05: exactly, thanks for understanding  
  
gobletofrock00: anytime, i'm always here if you need to talk  
  
Heartofglass05: thanks so much Zack  
  
gobletofrock00: anytime, really  
  
Marta smiled to herself, and just for a second, that sick feeling disappeared from her stomach and it was replaced by a happy sensaition, she forgot about Leonard, who she was already totally over, she forgot about Katie, about the field trip, about school, about the future, about everything, she only thought of Zack, and how much he was starting to mean to her...  
  
...but only for a second.  
  
About three hours later, Marta went downstairs again to see if Michelle was back. She was, thank God.  
  
Heartofglass05: hey mich, do you have time to talk?  
  
This felt a little weird becuase usually the only person Marta had deep conversations with was Katie, and lately, Zack. Zack had told Marta a lot about himself, and vice versa. Marta just couldn't believe that she went through four or five years of her life with him being there, and not ever really knowing him or talking to him....  
  
Twirler866: yea i do, what's up?  
  
Heartofglass05: okay michelle, i really need to talk to someone about this huge problem i have, and you're the only person i can turn to, so please, please don't say anything to anyone...especially katie  
  
Twirler866: wow, this is about katie?  
  
Heartofglass05: well, sort of  
  
Heartofglass05: as of right now, no one else knows about this, so you've got to promise me you'll keep it secret, at least until i figure out what i'm going to do  
  
Twirler866: mar, you know i wouldn't tell anyone  
  
Heartofglass05: thanks so much mich  
  
Twirler866: okay, now tell me what's going on  
  
Heartofglass05: okay, you know how katie really likes zack, right?  
  
Twirler866: yea....but she showed me a convo she had with gordon that said he liked you..  
  
Twirler866: i feel so bad for her  
  
Heartofglass05: yea, well i feel a whole lot worse  
  
Twirler866: ...are you about to tell me what i think you're about to tell me?  
  
Heartofglass05: probably...  
  
Heartofglass05: michelle, i really like zack too  
  
Twirler866: oh my...  
  
Heartofglass05: i know! i don't know what to do! i'm losing sleep, i can't eat, and i can't concentrate! katie's my best friend, i don't know what i would do without her, and here i am turning on her!!  
  
Twirler866: marta, calm down, it's not exactly your fault, you can't exactly control who you like  
  
Heartofglass05: i know...but i still feel so bad, after all, i mean, i AM the one who practically told her to like Zack  
  
Twirler866: yea i know...so, what are you going to do..?  
  
Heartofglass05: i don't exactly know yet, i really need time to think about it  
  
Twirler866: we need to figure something out before this thursday, what if something happens at the dance?  
  
Heartofglass05: oh no, i totally forgot about that!  
  
Heartofglass05: wait a minute...we?  
  
Twirler866: yea, we, i'm going to help you of course!  
  
Heartofglass05: you would do that for me?  
  
Twirler866: duh mar! what are friends for? of course i'm going to help you!  
  
Heartofglass05: thank you so much michelle, i really mean it, bff  
  
Twirler866: anytime mar, bff  
  
Marta looked at her watch, it was pretty late and she had to get to bed soon. She put up an away message and went upstairs to change into her pajamas. As she was walking out of her room, she noticed the photo album that Katie got her for her birthday. She opened it, as she did from time to time. The first picture was of Katie and Marta, and on the inside cover, there was a note from Katie.  
  
To Marta, thanks for everything. Best friends always and forever  
  
She looked at that, and the picture for a really long time. Then she closed the album, put it back on the shelf, and for the first time in a really long time, Marta Hale cried.  
  
(A/N): Well there's chapter 7. I'm almost positive that the next chapter will be the trip. I might accaully spilt the trip into two chapters, I don't know yet though. What did you think of this chapter? Please review!!  
  



	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own School of Rock or anything associated with it. The song "Bed of Lies" belongs to Matchbox 20.  
  
Much love to the reviewers!  
  
Chapter 8:  
  
It was the day of the trip, and Marta felt like she was going to die of nervousness, anxiousness, and most of all, guilt. She was up till 3 AM last night just thinking and worrying about the next day. Katie was still acting a bit cold toward Marta, even though she said, though half-heartedly, a million times that she knew it wasn't exactly Marta's fault. This made Marta feel even worse. If only Katie knew what was truly going on....what would she think then...?  
  
Marta walked to the bus stop in sort of a daze. She got on the bus and sat in the seat across from Lawrence. Lawrence was a really quiet kid, Lawrence and Marta have been neighbors ever since Marta moved to the town, and not many people knew that they were friends. Pretty good friends, in fact. In the summer they would always play outside with the younger kids. Well, not so much anymore, now that they were older, but they still talked a lot.  
  
Marta stared out the window at the foggy morning. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the quiet, "Marta?.....Marta?..........MARRRRRTA???"  
  
She quickly turned around and fake smiled. "Hey Lawrence," she said. "Sorry, I was uh...just...thinking."  
  
"Excited for the trip tonight?" Lawrence asked.  
  
"Uhh...you could say that..." Marta said with a genuine smile.  
  
The bus pulled up to the school after the short ride. Marta walked into the cafeteria to wait for her friends, just like every day. Katie came in first. She sat down across from Marta. "Look at this..." she said, sounding very distant. It was another AIM conversation between Katie and Gordon from last night.  
  
gordonator43: bad news  
  
rockergirl22: what??  
  
gordonator43: all right, zack just told me that he's planning to dance with Marta tomorrow on the cruise-dance thing  
  
gordonator43: then ask her out  
  
rockergirl22: SHIT  
  
gordonator43: please PLEASE don't tell zack i told you that! he'll kill me!  
  
rockergirl22: i won't, i can keep a secret  
  
rockergirl22: well, i gtg, thanks  
  
Marta put her head down on the table. She needed to figure out what to do...and fast. Katie was going to figure out what was really going on soon, and things would be even more messed up.  
  
"Marta....tell me the truth...you like Leonard, right?"  
  
"...right..." Marta said as steadily as she could.  
  
"And you're gonna say no to Zack....right?"  
  
"Of course.." Marta said. Her stomach ached just saying those words.  
  
_No I would not sleep in this bed of lies  
So toss me out and turn in  
And there'll be no rest for these tired eyes  
I'm marking it down to learning  
I am  
  
Don't think that I can take another empty moment  
Don't think that I can fake another hollow smile  
**It's not enough just to be sorry**  
Don't think that I could take another talk about it  
  
Just like me, you got needs  
And they're only a whisper away  
And we softly surrender  
To these lives that we've tendered away  
  
No I would not sleep in this bed of lies..._  
  
"Okay..." Katie said and half-smiled, like she still wasn't sure about something.  
  
Michelle and Eleni walked in a few minutes later. They talked a while until the bell rang. They got up to leave, and Marta signaled to Michelle to wait up. Michelle was still the only one that knew that Marta liked Zack. "Hey...we have a new problem," said Marta.  
  
She told Michelle about the AIM conversation.  
  
"We need to figure out what to do....and fast," said Marta. "Can we meet in the library 4th period during study hall? That way we can talk and figure this out."  
  
"Yea, I'll talk to you then..." said Michelle  
  
. Marta went to the library 4th period to meet Michelle. She arrived a few minutes later and they sat down at a table by themselves. "Okay," said Marta. "I think I know what I'm going to do."  
  
"Well, Mar, it's obvious what you have to do, you have to say no."  
  
"Heh, easier said than done. But you're right, I have to say no. I could never do that to Katie."  
  
"I know," said Michelle. "But it just sucks that you like him, and he likes you, but you can't be together..."  
  
"I know, I really hope this works out someday," Marta said and frowned. There was a long pause. "That's what I'm going to tell him..." said Marta quietly. "I just have to tell him that, I really like him, but I can never hurt my best friend like that."  
  
"Yea, that seems like the best thing to do," said Michelle. "...do you think you should tell Katie?"  
  
"Well, I want to, but I know she'll be so mad at me," said Marta. "I'm going to say no to Zack, so it won't matter anyway, right?"  
  
"I guess so..." said Michelle. "I just hope it works out okay."  
  
"Heh, so do I," Marta said nervously.  
  
Later that day...  
  
It was almost time to leave to go on the field trip. After school ended, the kids stayed at the school and ate pizza and waited for the buses to arrive. Since they couldn't fit everyone in the cafeteria, lunch 'A' ate first, then lunch 'B'. Zack was in lunch 'A', and the four girls were in lunch 'B', so they didn't really see him until the bus ride there.  
  
Katie and Marta sat in the seat across from Zack and Marco, who were starting to become pretty good friends. The four of them talked all the way there, they had a really good time. Marta couldn't help but notice Zack smiling at her every once in a while. She always smiled back. _Great...now I'm just leading him on...._ she thought to herself.  
  
After about an hour's drive, the bus finally arrived at the place where they would board the boat.   
  
Marta took a deep breath, this wasn't going to be an easy trip.  
  
A/N: I'm soooooooo sorry it took so long to update, I've just been really busy! The next chapter will be easier to write though, I have it all planned out. Please give me a review, I only got 2 last time! :-(  
  



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